When receiving a manicure, nail polish is usually applied to the surface of the nail. Various compositions of nail polish have been disclosed in the prior art, each with various desirable features such as quick drying, ease of application or removal, or durability, resistance to breaking or chipping. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,764,168, 3,982,113, and 4,126,144 disclose nail polish compositions that are easy to remove. Other compositions and devices have been developed to assist in better application of nail polish for a better overall manicure, such as the use of a top coat, base coat, or protective coatings to prevent nail polish from reaching the cuticle area and skin areas proximate to the nail. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,960,587 and 5,150,726 disclose an adhesive mask for covering the cuticle to prevent nail polish from being accidentally applied to the cuticle. U.S. Pat. No. 2,339,070 and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2007/0277331 discloses coating compositions for protecting the cuticle from unwanted nail polish. Often, it is desirable to use one or more colors to generate a design on the surface of the nail. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,598,685, 3,885,578, 5,133,369 disclose methods and apparatus for generating designs on the surface of the nail.
Application of nail coating is normally accomplished with a brush or similar application. Application of nail designs is also frequently accomplished through the use of brushes with various sizes to achieved desired design effects, through the use of design stencils or adhesive ornamentation, or through the use of pen-tipped devices that dispense nail color. It is desirable in many circumstances to have designs with precise, well defined edges, however, precise, well defined edges are often difficult to generate when applying nail polish, even with a stencil, as often the removal of the stencil prior to complete drying of the nail polish can leave ill defined edges. In addition to the difficulties of painting a precise design on the surface of a fingernail, generating a freehand design has its limitations because errors are difficult to correct. Removing nail polish and reapplying nail polish can be tedious and time consuming.
It is often difficult to perform a manicure on oneself, and even more challenging to apply designs to the surface of a nail by oneself. Frequent visits to a manicurist can become costly, and services obtained may not always be satisfactory, as the quality of the manicure and/or designs on the nail are subject to the experience and artistic capabilities of the manicurist.
The present inventor has recognized that known prior art methods described, and others, for applying designs to the nail surface have been disadvantageous for various reasons. The present inventor has recognized the need for a method of applying designs to the surface of the nail that is easy to perform on oneself, and minimizes the time consuming errors of correcting misshapen figures on the surface of the nail. The present inventor has recognized the need for a method of applying designs to the surface of the nail which allows the user to adjust the design until the correct configuration has been obtained. The present inventor has recognized the need for a method of applying precise designs to the surface of the nail which are not limited by the design templates of available stencils, or limited to designs available on artificial nails, or to artificial nails for a “French manicure”—manicures designed to resemble a natural nail, and are characterized by natural pink base nails with white tips—comprising French tips that are often unnatural looking and do not conform to the users natural nail tips.